Like Moths To Flames - Dark Divine

Ahhh, metalcore. You either get it or you don’t. It’s hotly debated, even amongst those who love it, and that’s why I couldn’t have been more excited to get my hands on the latest album from up and coming genre favorites, LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES. I am a huge sucker for metalcore, especially when we get down a djentier path, and that’s really what I was hoping for from LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES in their 4th and latest full length, “Dark Divine”. But instead of a heavier and more mature path into the realm of modern metalcore, we are presented with a derivative effort that feels like it belongs in 2012.

To the album’s credit, it does present some interesting breakdowns and crisp rffage during select verses. Title track “Dark Divine” and shortly after track 6 “From The Dust Returned” particularly stood out to me as bringing interesting and heavy riffs to the table. That being said, the high moments of every song are overcome by the generic and flat choruses, in basically every single song. The melodies are derivative, and the clean vocals are complacent. Not to knock vocalist Chris Roetter at all, his vocal performances are incredible from a technical standpoint and his harsh vocals are some of my favorite in the genre. I just can’t help but feel we’ve heard the chorus and clean vocals presentation too many times before from too many different bands.

For a band with as much promise as LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES, I truly was hoping for a performance that would further elevate their genre. We don’t get that, it’s unfortunate, but it also doesn’t make it a bad album.

Other tracks that keep the album moving in a positive direction include “Mischief Managed” with one of my favorite breakdowns of the album, and probably one of the heaviest. But, like all the others, it’s held back by the generic chorus. That being said, the verses are fucking spectacular. They’re heavy, modern, and crisp. Opener “New Plague” and closer “False Idol” both start with the same motif of an electronic type intro leading into heavy riffage. I love the consistency, despite whatever flaws consist within the songs. The presentation is cohesive, and for better or for worse a lot of thought went into the sound of the album.

“False Idol” is particularly great, it is one of their more innovative and modern songs, generally speaking. We also get the STRONGEST chorus on the album, Roetter brings a different edge to his cleans that creates a more mature and consistent vibe, which keeps the track together as one instead of being broken up into heavy and then generic pieces. Everything about this song is great, and frankly it disappoints me that more of the album wasn’t like this.

But, as always, LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES have their potential on full display. They’re a young band, and it still is only their 4th full length. There are (hopefully) many exciting things on their horizon. If you’re a fan of the genre, give the album a listen and enjoy it for what it is. You’ll have a nice time but won’t be blown away, it’s consistent but largely nothing we haven’t already heard before. If you’re a hardcore fan of LIKE MOTHS TO FLAMES, I’m sure you thought it was just spectacular. That’s fine too.

Songwriting: 8Originality: 6Memorability: 5Production: 9

Tracklist:

1. New Plague2. Nowhere Left To Sink3. Shallow Truths For Shallow Minds4. Dark Divine5. Empty The Same6. From The Dust Returned7. Even God Has A Hell8. Mischief Managed9. Instinctive Intuition10. Glimpse11. False Idol